Cable ring



Oct. 19,1943. w. 'r. PRITCHARD 2,332,112

I CABLE RING Filed Oct. 20, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F/GZ.

IINI/ENTOR I n. ZPR/ TCHARD BK} 77/46 Maid A T TORNFP Oct. 19, 1943. w. T. PRITCHARD 2,332,112

CABLE RING Filed Oct. 20, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet.2

a0 29 INVENTOR 34 33 W 7.'PR/TCHARO as as an} %d [MM 37 ATTORNEY Patented oet. 19, 1943 Bell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporated, i I New York, N. Y., a corporationtoi New Yo rk Application October 20, 1942, Serial ormans 8 Claims. (01 174-241),

This invention relates to cable supporting rings and more particularly to rings for temporarily suspending aerial cable from a messenger strand prior to the cable being permanently secured thereto by lashing. l

The object of this invention is the provision of a temporary support for aerial cable which will not'become displaced during the pulling-moi the cable and which may be readily moved out of position as'the lashing of the cable progresses.

Another object of this'invention is the provision of atemporary support for aerial cable which maybe readily applied and removed from the messenger strand with a minimum amount of efiort. I r

A further object of this invention is the provision of a'temporary support for aerial cable which will not twist on the strand and which will ofier a minimum amount of resistance to the cable as it' is being pulled in.

' Hereto'fore' in the installation of aerial cable, on

messengerstrands, by lashing the cables thereto temporarily support the cable fromthe messenger strand by means of standard cable rings" spaced some distance apart. This practice -re-- quired a lineman to ride the strand-twice; 1. e.,

first, to place the rings in position on the strand and later just ahead of the lashing machine to remove the rings as the lashing oi the cable pro-,

gressed. v I

It is with the elimination of the riding of the strand to position and remove the rings that this invention is concerned.

With the cable ring of this invention, a method of installing aerial cable, by the lashed cable method, may be practiced which entirely elnm nates the riding of the strand, thereby reducing, by a considerable amount, the time required to by means of a uitable machine, such as shown and described in Patent 2,272,253 to E. St. Johns dated February 10,1942, it has been the practice 'thisinvention in pulled-out on thestrand withthe f'ree endsof' the chairror rope'sec'ured to the adjacent poles. The cable is then pulled-in in the usual manner,

by means of a'winch line previously positioned therein; The free end of the chain or rope nearest the-cable lashing machine is loosened to permitthe cable lashingmachine to be placed one the strand "and to push/the rings ahead of it' as'it proceeds along the strand" until the nextj pole is: reached where all the rings are unlatched and positioned on hel1t span where the operation heretofore described is repeated.

The invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description when in'which:

read inconjunction with the following drav iingsi Fig.1 is a fragnientary view'of pole line showing th'e rings of this invention supporting'the machine pushing the rings;

cable with the lashing ahead of it.

Fig, 2is a fragmentaryview of a section ofthei supporting strand and aerial cablewith therings of this invention shown in side'elevation.

Fig.j 3 is a front ele vational view of theming of its open position with the'cable e and strand shown 'in'dot-dash;

, ring is closed and Fig. 4 is a view-similar to Fig. 3 except that the it is suspended fromthe strand which isshown in dot-dash.

@Fig. 5 isaside elevational view of Fig. 4

, As shown in the "drawings, lll'discloses a supporting strand, ll the cable support and lZ the to install the'cable and-eliminates an objectione able operation. o

In the preferred form of my 1nvent1on, I have 45' shaped in configuration, is constructed of spring provided acable ring which is substantially pearmaterialand is provided with an integral latch at the top for positioning and removing it from the strand. Secured to the bottom portion of the ring are downwardly extending link members to which a length of chain or some other suitable material,"such a rope is secured forjoining a number 'of these rings together.

A plurality of these rings'are secured together in definite spaced relation and are arranged to be The upport l l ispreferably formed of suitable, wirejand includes a cablerejceiving loop l3 having upwardly extending side portions [4 and 15. The upper ends of thefsi'die portions 14 and 15, as, shown at l5 and. wardly at'an angle'j' shown in Fig, 4, they are insubstantial parallel relation. w

. The upper end l6of the" side member M has fits end portionlbent bac'k, upon itself and around it 4 and 5. The hook portion I8 is adapted to receive," when brought together, the bent over and ,eportion 19 of thegstraight portion I! of the sidef member I5 to firmly lock them together to pre-" vent dis lacement.

'As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the bottom portion of e the cable receiving loop I 3 is deformed, to, provide a wave-like configuration which extends outwardly topro'v'ide the two small protuberances' H, in' Fig. 3, are bent out A I H w th respectto, the side pertions so'that when: they .are' brought'together asj to providev support" thereto and the inwardly e'x-f tending hook. portionil8, as shown in Figs. 2,.'

and 2| and the large protuberance 22. Positioned on the bottom portion of the loop l3 between the protuberances 20 and 2| is the elongated saddle-shaped member 23. This member overlies the large protuberance 22 and is secured in position by having its side portion in close contact with each other and secured together by any suitable means, for example, spot welding as shown at 24 and 25.; Due to its particular construction, the member 28 will not interfere with the cable nor rotate around the bottom of the loop as the cable is being pulled thereover.

As shown in the various figures, the side portions of the saddle member 23 are provided with spaced apart integral inturned e'ars or lugs 26 and 21. These ears are at right angles with respect to the sides of the members 23 and are provided with aligned apertures. Pivotaily mounted between the ears 26 and 2! and supported by the rivet 28 which passes therethrough and secured in. the apertures in the ears, are the two downwardly depending links 29 and 30. These links are provided at their free ends with apertures in which there is mountedby means of the rivets 33 and 34 the clevices 35 and 36 to which the ends of the chain 31 are secured As shown in Fig. 2, the rings. are connected. together by means of lengths of chains and are spaced a convenient distance apart, for example, approximately five feet.

In installing aerial cable using the improved ring of this invention, the first step for the workman is to open the required numberof rings for the particular span and position them on the supporting strand close to the pole. .A winch or cable towing line is then threaded through the bunched rings and secured to the end of the cable already in position onfthe] previous span, or to the free end of the cable on a reel. The near end of the chain that is the end nearest the pole is then temporarilysecured to the pole and the far end is secured to a handline. Tension applied to the hand line causes the rings to spread out and slide along the supporting. strand and be positioned at spaced intervals thereon. When the chain is taut the far end is temporarily secured. to the adjacent pole.

The aerial cable is now pulled-in in the usual manner by means of the winch line previously placed therein as heretofore described. After the cable has been pulled-inthe'nearendof the chain is loosened and the first ring moved forward. to permit the lashing machine to be placed in position over the supporting strand and cable. As

the lashing of the cable proceeds, as'shown' in Fig. l, the rings one after, the other are engaged and pushed along the strand by the lashing machine. This operation continues until the next pole is reached and the lashing of thatparticular span is completed, whereupon thebunched rings are unlatched and placedon the strand on the other side of the pole where tlie'heretotore described operation is repeated. It can be readily observed that with the the improved able time and effort is saved inasmuch as no riding of the strand is required at anytime during the installation of thescable. V While there is shown and described herein the preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that various changesand modificause of tions may be made therein withoutideparting from the spirit of the invention. I do not intend to limit my invention'to any particular method for, joining the rlngstogether, neither do I limit ring or this invention consider:

myself to the spacing of the rings and I am only limited by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A cable supporting ring comprising a cable receiving loop, arms extending upwardly from said loop, one of said arms provided with a horizontally extending hook portion and the other with a cooperating return bend portion, a saddle member secured over the bottom portion of said loop and having inwardly extending ears thereon and a pair of link member pivotally supported between said ears.

2. A cable supporting ring comprising a cable receiving loop, parallel arms extending upwardly,

arms provided with a horizontally extending hook portion and the other with a cooperating return bend portion, a saddle member secured over the bottom portion of said loop and having inwardly extending ears thereon and a pair of link members pivot'ally supported between said ears.

3. A cable supporting ring comprising a cable receiving loop, arms extending upwardly from said loop, one of said arms provided with a hori zontally extending hook portion and the other with a cooperating return bend portion, the underside of which is in engagement with the top side of said hook member to prevent displace mentthereof, a saddle member secured over the bottom portion of said loop and having inwardly extending ears thereonand a pair of link members pivotally supported between said ears.

4. A cable supporting ring comprising a cable receiving loop, parallel arms extending upwardly, in spaced relation, from said loop, one of said arms provided with a horizontally extending hook portion and the other with a cooperating return bend portion, the underside of which is in engagement with the top side of said hook member to prevent displacement thereof, a saddle member secured over the bottom portion of said loop and having inwardly extending ears thereon, said ears being spaced apart and having pivotally mounted therebetween a pair of link members.

5'. A cable supporting ring comprising a cable receiving loop, arms extending upwardly from said loop, one of said arms provided with a horizontally extending hook portion and the other with-acooperating return bend portion, a saddle member secured over the bottom portion of said loop and having inwardly extending earsthereon, a pair of link members pivotally supported between said ears, and flexible means secured to the free ends of said link member.

6. A cable supporting ring comprising a cable receiving loop, parallel arms extending upwardly, in spaced relation, from said loop, one of said arms provided with ahorizontally extending hook portion and the other with a cooperating return bend portion, a saddle member secured over the bottom portion of said loop and having inwardly extending ears thereon, a pair of link members pivotally supported between saidears, and flexible means secured to the free ends of said link member.

. 7. A cablesupporting ring comprising a cable receiving loop, arms extending upwardly from said loop, one of said arms provided with a horizontally. extending hook portion and the other with. a cooperating return bend portion, the underside of which is in engagement with the top side of said hook member to Dreventdisplacment thereof, a saddle member secured over the bottom portion of said loop and havinginwar'dly extending ears thereon, a pair of link member gagement with the top side of said hook member to prevent displacement thereof, a saddle member secured over the bottom portion of said loop and having inwardly extending ears thereon, said ears being spaced apart and having pivotally mounted therebetween a pair of link members, a

and flexible means secured to the free ends of said link member.

WILLIAM T. PRITCHARD. 

